Buckle



H. BEAZLEY June 23, l194.2.

BUCKLE Filed Nov. l2, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIGA.-

INVENTOR WARD BEAZLEY ATTORNEY June 23, 1942.

H. BEAZLEY n Filed NOV. l2, 1941 2 SheetSLSheet 2 INVENTR WARD BEAZLEY ATTCRNEY Patented .lune 23, 1942 r UNITEDSTTES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

rial of suitable strength, are usually formed of webbing. In one type or belt the buckle has heretofore been permanently secured to one end of the belt and the releasable engagement with the other end provided by one or more tongues passing through grommets inserted in the belt. I have found that some kinds'of webbing, while having the necessary tensile strength, will not eiectively retain the grommets which are consequently liable to be torn out in use. Another objection to the prior forms of belt referred to is that, due to the permanent attachment of the buckle to one end of the belt, the position of the former on the body of the wearer will vary with persons of different girth.

Another type of belt has been employed in which the use of a tongue has beenl avoided by clamping one end of the belt between two metal surfaces. However, this means of fastening the belt has not been found satisfactory.

One object of my invention is to provide a buckle in which the fastening of the two ends of the belt together is accomplished by a clamping or wedging of one end against the other, thus avoiding the use of grommets and so permitting the use of kinds oi webbing which would not otherwise be available.

Another object of my invention is to provide a buckle in which one end of the belt is adjustably or semi-permanently secured thereto so that the buckle may be readily adjusted to'lie at the point of most convenient relase for wearers of different girth.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate a buckle made in accordance with my invention, together with a belt to which it is applied, Figure 1 is a top plan view showing the buckle in locked position; Figure 2 is an enlarged section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a side View showing the buckle in released position; Figure 4 is a section taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 2, the belt being omitted; Figure 5 is a longitudinal section of the buckle alone, showing a modication; Figure 6 is a tcp'plan View showing a further modiiication; Figure 7 is a section taken on the line 1 1 of Figure 6; Figure 8 is a section taken on the line 8 8 of Figure 7; and Figure 9 is a bottom plan View of the buckle shown in Figures 6 to 8, the belt being omitted.

-Referring first to Figures 1 to 4, the buckle comprises two parts, a frame or relatively fixed member and a clamping or relatively movable member. The frame comprises a bottom plate I and a top plate 2. The bottom plate has its edges turned'up to form side pieces 3 and has formed near one end a slot Il for the passage of the belt. Mounted in the side pieces is the clamping member, including a pair of disks 5 moving in openings in side pieces and a cross-'bar 6 eccentrically carried by the disks. Carried by and moving with the disks are a pair of arms l connected by a finger piece 8 preferably having a turned up edge 9. The arms may be secured to the disks in any suitable manner, preferably by square projections lil. The plate 2 is secured to plate l by any means, such as rivets l l; and is so shaped as to provide a concave breast l2 adjacent the bar 6. The curvature of this breast is such as'to provide, between it and the bar 6, a tapering throat i3 through which passes the two parts of the belt consisting of the semi- Xed end l@ and the free end l5. The distance of the breast from the bar is such that the two ends of the belt will be firmly clamped together in the throat when the parts are in the position shown in Figure 2. The surface of the breast is continuedat the flaring end of the throat to form a ridge l5 at one side of the bar and at the contracted end of the throat to form a ridge I'l at the other side thereof. The rear end of plate 2 adjacent slot 4 is extended beyond the body of the frame to form a slightly wider portion I8 in which is formed a slot i9 for the passage of end lll of the belt.

The operation of my buckle is as follows: To apply the belt, the semi-fixed end I4 is brought from the rear end of the buckle and is threaded up through slot l 9 and thence through the throat between the two ridges, the movable member having rst been shifted to the position shown in Figure 3. The belt is now passed around the front end and lower side of the frame and up through slot 4 to a position parallel to itself. This provides a semi-iixed connection with suiiicient friction to retain the buckle in position and at the same time permits easy adjustment of the buckle on the'belt to secure the most convenient positionon the body of the wearer. The end I5 of the belt is now brought from the front end of the buckle and passed down through the throat between the two ridges and thence out at the rear end of the buckle. After end I5 has been brought to the proper position the movable member is swung into the position shown in Figure 2, clamping the two parts of the belt in the throat between the breast and the bar by a wedging action. When the belt is under tension in use, the parts are drawn in opposite directions, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 2. This tension tends t increase the wedging action, insuring the effective locking of the belt. To release the belt, the movable member is swung into the position shown in Figure 3 by grasping the finger piece 3. This movement offers no great resistance even when the belt is under full load tension. When the bar is moved away from the breast by this movement, end I5 is free to be withdrawn from the buckle.

In Figure 5 I have shown a modification in which the movable member is the same as in the form above described. However, the frame, instead of beineT built up of two sheets of stamped metal secured together, is formed of a single casting 2!! provided with the breast I2 and ridges I6 and I'I. The rear end of the frame is provided with a pair of cross-straps 2l between which the two strands of the belt end I4 are adapted to pass. These straps are spaced from ridge I6 to form ways 22 and 23 to permit the passage of the belt in the same manner as slots 4 and I9, respectively.

In Figures 6 to 9 I have shown another modification in which the frame is formed of a single sheet of metal, and a different form of movable member is employed. The frame of a plate 24 having its edges turned up to form side pieces 25. The central part of the plate is bent downwardly and curled over to form two parts 26 and 21 corresponding to ridges I6 and I'I, respectively. It will be noted that in this modication part 2'! acts as a combined breast and ridge and that a convex instead of a concave breast is formed. It will be understood, however, that if found desirable, the part 2'! may be so shaped as to form a concave breast. A slot 28 is formed in the plate adjacent part 2t and above this slot retaining plates 29 are bent over from the side pieces.

In this form the movable member comprises a finger piece 33 piveted between the side plates by a pin 3l and a tail piece 32 cooperating with the breast to clamp the two parts of the belt together in the same manner as the bars B previously described. To prevent rattling of the movable members when not under tension, I provide the nger piece with a counterbore 33 at one end of the pin opening. In this bore is a coil spring 34 bearing at one end against the nger piece and at the other end against a collar 35. This will provide sufficient friction against the side pieces to prevent any rattle.

The operation of the modified forms is substantially the same as that of the form shown in Figures l to 4 and need not be further described.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame having means for attaching it adjustably to one end of a belt to vary its location relatively thereto, a member movably carried by said frame and including a clamping bar cooperating with a portion of the frame to form a throat adapted to receive both ends of such belt, and a finger piece carried by said member for moving the bar into and out of operative position to clamp the two ends of the belt together.

2. In a vbuckle for safety belts, a frame having an opening for one end of a belt, a member movably carried by said frame and including a clamping bar cooperating with a portion of the frame to form a throat adapted to receive both ends of such belt, said frame having a second opening for the reception of the i'lrst named end of the belt after it has passed through the throat, said openings providing means for adjustably attaching the buckle to the belt prior to the clamping action, and a finger piece carried by the member for moving the bar into and out of operative position to clamp the two ends of the belt together in the throat.

3. In a buckle vfor safety belts, a frame having a breast located between two ridges, a member movably carried by said frame and including a clamping bar cooperating with the breast to form a throat adapted to receive both ends of a belt to which the buckle is applied, and a finger piece carried by the member for moving the bar into and out of clamping position.

4. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame having a concave breast located between two ridges, a member movably carried by said frame and including a clamping bar cooperating with the breast to form a tapering throat adapted to receive both ends of a belt to which the buckle is applied, and a finger piece carried by the member for moving the bar into and out of clamping position.

5. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame having a breast located between two ridges, a pair of disks mounted in said frame, a cross-bar eccentrically carried by said disks and cooperating with said breast to form a throat adapted to receive both ends of a belt to which the buckle is applied, and a nger piece for moving the disks to actuate the bar.

6. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame having a breast located between two ridges, a member movably carried by said frame and including a clamping bar cooperating with the breast to form a throat adapted to receive both ends of a belt to which the buckle is applied, said frame having an opening for one end of the belt adjacent one of the ridges and a second opening for the same end of the belt after its passage around the other ridge.

7. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame formed of two sheet metal parts, one part comprising a bottom plate and a pair of side plates, the other part of said frame comprising a top plate secured to the bottom plate and forming a breast located between two ridges, and a member movably mounted in the side pieces, said member including a cross-bar cooperating with the breast to clamp together the ends of a belt to which the buckle is applied.

8. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame formed of two sheet metal parts, one part comprising a bottom plate and a pair of side plates, the other part of said frame comprising a top plate secured to the bottom plate and forming a breast located between two ridges, said bottom plate having a slot for the passage of one end of a belt to which the buckle is applied, the top plate having a slot for the passage of the same end of the belt, a pair of disks mounted in the side pieces, a cross-bar eccentrically carried by the disks and cooperating with the breast to clamp together the tWo ends of the belt, and a nger piece for moving the disks to actuate the bar.

9. In a buckleifor safety belts, a frame formed of a sheet of metal, said frame having a pair of integral ridges one of which 4forms a breast,

`side plates carried by the sheet, a nger piece pivoted between said side plates, and a tail piece carried by said finger piece and `cooperating with the breast to clamp the two ends of a belt together.

10. In a buckle for safety belts, a frame formed HOWARD BEAZLEY. 

